Reactions from Readers
Please don't toy with my emotions. Tell me you're serious!
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End of flashback...It's now time to get back to the future for all of us!
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Perhaps now we can get back to the business of teaching our children. I'm tired of the focus being on those who were hired to serve the students. Can we rescind the contracts of Ms. Diaz's friends she hired? Can we also cancel the Houghton-Mifflin reading texts? I could use enough Math books for my class so I don't have to copy them any longer plus it would be nice to have Social Studies books as well. Too much money, time and effort is spent on the adults with egos in our district. Let's get back to the basics, teaching kids to read, write, and do math!
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I hope the school board also sends all her cronies packing with her. Next they should find a replacement for Ms. Marrufo, because she was made with the same mold as Dr. Diaz. They have very similar personalities and we want as far away from these types of people as we can get!
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Thank goodness it's over. I hope before LCPS1 ends this blog that someone will let the Sun-News know that their "reporter" has been biased throughout this entire ordeal. Tonight, he was heard calling Diaz long distance (since she is out of town) to let her know what time the School Board would reconvene in open session. This is the same reporter who also was seen giving her hugs on different occasions, and telling her "don't worry" when the Board was going into a recent closed meeting to discuss her performance. What kind of journalist ethics does he have? One thing that's also possible --- the Sun-News Editor was the reason the true stories were never reported. Hum...
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It is unfortunate, this situation with Dr. Diaz. What is more disheartening are the comments on this Blog. For all the anger and criticism where are the suggestions and/or answers? Replacements on the school board is probably a good start, and then where do we go from there?
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I saw tears of joy after the announcement by the School Board. It was such a relief to see smiles on the faces of so many people. I hope that Dr. Diaz will now walk out graciously; however, if she follows her same pattern, she'll sue. I'm actually proud of our School Board, which is something I haven't felt in a really long time. BTW, thanks bloggers.
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This blog really helped --- kept us informed and let us vent! In a way, it's sad that comments had to be done anonymously. The fear that prevented names from being published was the first clue that our Superintendent was someone who failed to treat employees fairly and with professionalism. I hope the School Board will really listen to employees during the next go-round. Use your common sense and call other districts before hiring. We do want our schools to improve, but to do that we need a leader who is NICE to people in addition to having a doctorate.
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What goes around, comes around, Ms. Diaz! How you sleep at night, we'll never know. You must be heavily medicated! Consider our school board's decision to fire you a blessing. You've done enough damage here, now move along. And please consider a job somewhere besides another school district. How about a sales clerk at the mall? They're hiring for the holidays! Thank you LCPS school board for finally making the right decision!
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THANK YOU SCHOOL BOARD! There’s no way to say that loud enough! They did listen and did take employees into consideration. I hope our financial situation in the district can be rectified. Thanks to anyone in the business offices downtown who had the nerve to report any financial mismanagement. And, thanks to my fellow colleagues who spoke up. Time to support Liz Marrufo until the next Superintendent is found... next time --- check references!!
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Before this blog is put to rest, I want to thank whoever made it possible. It truly provided a way for employees to speak out, even if they couldn't identify themselves for fear of their jobs. The nightmare is over! Thanks to everyone who spoke out, talked to the School Board's lawyers, and stood up to defend themselves and their fellow employees. Hooray!!
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DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!!!!THE WICKED WITCH IS DEAD!!!
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It's what was needed before the LCPS ended up "in the red" or worse. All that's needed is to clean house with the LCPS Board starting with Mr. Briseno and three others IMO and get our school district back on the right track. Teachers/LCPS employees have enough stress without having to worry about a headhunter with a personal vendetta as Superintendent.
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I want to applaud all employees past and present that tried to stand up to Sonia Salcedo Diaz. Special kudos to Karen, Jo, Dorothy and Michael Cooke who had to endure her demeaning comments, her abrasive and rude behavior, and still present themselves to the public as loyal employees for our school family. Justice has been served.
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Now that she is gone the only way this district can heal itself is for this blog to shut down. We can no longer continue to tear everyone apart. We have to give whoever takes over a fair chance. There will always be people who are upset, but we have to give a new person a chance without all of this anonymous finger pointing.
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Couldn't believe it when I heard Las Cruces hired Sonia (I call her Sonia because she seemed to refuse to use people's names, always calling them 'sweetie') but it only took you around 4 months to get wise to her.Everything I read on the blog sounded familiar but it also sounded as if she did her damage faster. My daughter can identify exactly when she wanted to move from Bridgeport just to go to a new school: when Sonia replaced Connelly. Activists who agitated to remove him defended her almost until the bitter end...............and the city was typically irresponsible when it bought her out. She had a couple of really strong supporters on the BOE. Oh, you brought back memories! I'm feeling that German word now:schafrenaude? (sic) And now I know why her hair was always so perfect: Japanese straightening? I'll have to look it up because I've never heard of it. Oh, if you have a second, I wondered what was meant by the pin-up picture. Again, congratulations and best of luck with your next superintendent. Julie
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Ok, round 1 goes to common sense, now let’s make sure we don't go and make another big mistake. Please don't name Liz Marrufo as new superintendent, not even interim. She is just as mean spirited with those that don't think like her as Sonia has been. Marrufo has her own agenda and her own "good ol'girl system" so it would just be the same old stuff, different day. Please think of the low morale in our district and the consequences of having another "Iron Maiden" in charge.
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Diaz is out. This is certainly great news for our district. Now all we have to do is work at getting Diane Patterson out of East Picacho Elementary and we may begin to see a genuine improvement in teacher moral, parent satisfaction, and student success!
posted by LCPS1 @ 6:38 AM
23 Comments:
It is time to review all upper level administrative hires/appointments at Central Office. You have new department heads making as much as 20-30K more than principals... RIDICULUS!!!
Yea! The Board listened to the community and made a wise choice. NOW let's move on and begin healing within our district and focus on the KIDS. Let's NOT trash Liz Marrufo and other administrators or teachers. Let's watch and see what they do and focus on actions instead of personal vendettas. It is all about our kids and their future now.
It is time to shut this bog down and let us heal. We can not heal as long as it is up. I appreciate what the blog did, but now lets get on withit. People are just using it to hurt each other now.
It is time to shut this bog down and let us heal. We can not heal as long as it is up. I appreciate what the blog did, but now lets get on withit. People are just using it to hurt each other now.
Along with Daine Patterson, a change at the principal postition at Dona Ana Elementary School may be in need due to the same problems (teacher morale,parent satisfaction etc) along with the need to address certain teachers questionable behavior/teaching tactics. Attitude affects morale and hers is appalling at times when addressing staff. Her understudy would make a great principal. Congrats LCPS employees but the fight has only begun.
So what's wrong with Diane Patterson? Is it that she is not easily manipulated or wait- you can't control her strings? Why don't you leave the district if all you can do is find fault! Maybe you should look in the mirror or are you afraid of what might be looking back?
Don't shut down just yet.
How about hiring even more self-aggrandizing central office staff?
Let's all go measure the size of our offices and determine who is more important.
sycosecond: time required for the sycophants to start claiming they are glad Diaz is gone - also used for measuring CYA response times.
Dear Blog Host,
Thanks so much for your work! I believe you have made a critical difference in the outcome last night!
I hope you keep this blog site open through the school board elections in February. We need a forum to continue to monitor the school board's activities.
Also, I urge you to start screening some of the comments on the is blog. I believe it is not time to start criticisizing other school district employees. Rahter, it is time to focus on healing and planning for the future.
Keep up the good work!
It seems in his mind he has done no wrong or all we all mistaken on how he left this district. "Louis Martinez is a highly respected national speaker on character development, closing the achievement gap, and issues of accountability in communities and schools. Mr. Martinez recently completed his tenure as superintendent for Las Cruces, NM Public Schools. He has collaborated on community development programs with numerous state and local officials, civic leaders and police command officers, as well as with educators and youth organizations. His work in schools and communities focuses on the responsibility of schools to provide rigorous, relevant instruction in an environment of positive relationships and implementation of best practices in school reform. He has designed comprehensive administrative and leadership development training programs and serves as a facilitator for conflict mediation training." The last sentence may be the most outragous lie that anyone has ever seen in a resume. This is from the International Center for Leadership in Education website. I wonder how Diaz will state what she did during her tenure here.
The next time, the school board needs to contact the unions in whatever district the candidate comes from to get the employee perspective. This march of the lemmings needs to stop.
And thank you to the NEA teacher/spokesperson who stood up and spoke up in protest at the board meeting at which Diaz announced her text book plan. It's important to go to school board meetings and make your voice heard. The teacher still has her job and Diaz doesn't!
Well....Diane Patterson is Liz Marufo's sister same mold!
Well....Diane Patterson is Liz Marufo's sister same mold!
Well....Diane Patterson is Liz Marufo's sister same mold!
She needs to go back to Harvard and take some classes on manners and humanity.
Please don't paint Mr. Martinez and Dr. Diaz with the same brush. Mr. Martinez had a vision and a plan. Mr. Martinez never responded to the lies set up to villify him.
The only issue with Mr. Martinez was ONE arrogant "untouchable" principal and those who allowed his reign.
When Mr. Martinez stood against SPECIFIC BOARD MEMBERS' agendas, the gloves were taken off. He took a severe public beating and never responded in kind. The last word on Mr. Martinez was the banner headline on October 23, 2005: "Martinez' Vision Lives On"
You never miss the water until the well runs dry. Congratulations on the 50-year retreat.
Please don't paint Mr. Martinez and Dr. Diaz with the same brush. Mr. Martinez had a vision and a plan. Mr. Martinez never responded to the lies set up to villify him.
The only issue with Mr. Martinez was ONE arrogant "untouchable" principal and those who allowed his reign.
When Mr. Martinez stood against SPECIFIC BOARD MEMBERS' agendas, the gloves were taken off. He took a severe public beating and never responded in kind. The last word on Mr. Martinez was the banner headline on October 23, 2005: "Martinez' Vision Lives On"
You never miss the water until the well runs dry. Congratulations on the 50-year retreat.
Thank you School Board. Shame on you LC Sun News! Your biased reporting on Sonia during her term has left many with serious questions about your journalistic integrity. You certainly didn't mind taking one more dig at Mr. Martinez when he wouldn't respond to your questions without reading the EEOC documents, but your DEAL with Sonia lasted far too long! It's one thing to make a deal to shadow her for her first few days, but you extended that deal for so long that you have tarnished your record as a reliable news source.
To the person who wants to know where we go from here. We go foward, we keep doing our jobs, and we keep the children of this district our top priority. The teachers and administrators continue to do their jobs, no matter what happens in Dr. Diaz's office. Now they can do so with a better outlook.
Liz Marrufo is a fair, consistent, and intelligent administrator who also has the integrity to run our district. We could certainly do worse than have her as interim superintendent (and we have in the past!)
Congratulations to you for quickly riding yourselves of a pathological, toxic individual. As a superintendent or deputy superintendent, Sonia Diaz has left in her wake now four districts all the worse for her egotistical presence. You can take solace in knowing that you discovered and exposed her supreme arrogance and deep-rooted narcissism much sooner than all others who have had the bad fortune of working for her. No other district should have to experience what you and others have. Let all search/consultant firms take heed and reject any applications she might submit in search of another superintendency.
A friend and sympathizer from the East Coast.
Isn't that the truth! If people actually knew how Diane Patterson treated the staff, students and parents at East Picacho, she would have been gone a long time ago! She actually turned the school's only conference room into her own personal office,leaving staff nowhere to hold their meetings.I have seen the way that Diane and her sister, Liz Marrufo treat people that they "don't like"- they act very unprofessionally, almost like two high school bullies.
We have so much to be thankful for this holiday. Dr. Diaz is gone, but mud slinging continues expecially when it comes to Mrs. Marrufo. I have worked for Mrs. Marrufo and I disagree that she is cut from the same mold. She is a professional and is willing to go the extra mile for her staff and students. When a new teacher was having trouble getting started in her classroom she dropped everything and took over her classroom for 2 weeks to show her how to set up her room, etc. If we came in late, she dropped us a note reminding us of our contract times, and if it continued, she had a chat with us. She knew every student's name and she was rarely in her office but out and about visible, doing her job. What I see happening in our schools today especially at the school I work at is teachers who don't want to be reminded that they shouldn't be talking or answering their cell phone when they should be teaching. They are continually talking on their cell phones in class or out in the hallway. Many refuse to do their duty - morning, hallway, or after school. And when they are reminded time and time again, they "hate it when someone is breathing down their back". DUH!! As I walk back to my classroom, I have heard teachers degrade a student in front of their peers - "You'll never amount to anything - you can't even do your homework". It breaks my heart, and yet when principals try to correct the problem, they are ousted because they are HARRASSING these teachers. Parents have a heart to heart talk with your children. Ask them if these things are happening in their classroom and if the answer is YES, please let someone know, beacause the truth is, teachers are quick to blame the administrators and never stop to see what they are doing wrong.
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